Fire-extinguisher.



R. F DOWNEY. FIRE EXTINGUISHER;

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 17, 19M.

1,167,685; Patented Jan. 11, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

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R. F. DOWNEY.

FIRE EXTINGUISHER. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 11. 1914.

1,167,635. Patented Jan. 11, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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UNFFED sra'rns PATENT onrrcn.

RICHARD F. DOWNEY, 0F MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOE OF ONE-HALF TOHUGO LOEWENBACI-I, O1 MILVJAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

FIRE-EXTINGUISI-IER.

Application filed February 17, 1914.

T0 at whom itmag concern Be it known that I, RICHARD F. DOWNEY, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in F ire- Extinguishers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof. 1

My invention has for its primary object to provide a simple, effective andeconomical automatically actuated fire-extinguisher of the chemical type, the same comprising a unit that, in equipment, may be multiplied indefinitely each unit being under control of one or more thermal elements placed at selected points.

Specific objects of my invention are to provide a suspended motor-driven revoluble tank constituting a holder for a fire-extinguisher chemical and a segregated fluid vehicle therefor; to provide a thermal actuated element for controlling the motor and for releasing the chemical and fluid, whereby the same are mixed and discharged inspraylike form, and to provide means for delivering the chemically treated fluid in a spray coincident to rotation of the tank.

lVith the above and other objects in view the invention consists in certain peculiarities of construction and combination of parts as hereinafter set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings and subsequently claimed.

In the drawings Figure 1 represents a sectional elevation of a fire-extinguisher embodying the features of my invention. the section being indicated by line l-1 of Figs. 2 and 3; Fig. 2, a sectional plan view of the same, the section being indicated by line 2-9- of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, another plan sectional View, the said section being taken upon a plane as indicated by line 33 of Fi 1 with parts broken away to more clearly illustrate structural features below the indicated plane of said section; Fig. 1, a detailed sectional plan view of a thermal controlled reeasing mechanism, the section being indicated by line 11 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 5, a detailed sectional plan view of a tank suspension means. the section being indicated by line 55 of Fig. 1.

Referring bv characters to the drawings, 1 represents the ceiling of an apartment to nhiel isse ered =.9h d 11.99;? for the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 11, 1316.

Serial No. 819,19.

tured web at of the hub member 1. Thus it is apparent that the spindle is held in suspension and is adapted to rotate within the upper and'lower bearings of the hangerpost. The lower end of the spindle 7 is secured to a spider-arm 9, which spider-arm,'

in turn, is secured to the inner walls of a revoluble tank 10, the same being open at its upper end for admission of the fluid 11, as shown. The tank also carries a second upper spider-arm which spider-arm is centrally recessed to permit clearance of the hanger-post incldental to rotation of the tank. One end of a motor-spr ng 12 is secured to the web a of the post-hub l, said spring being coiled about the spindle 7 and its lower end is suitably secured to said spindle as shown. Hence it will be seen that when the tank is revolved in a direction opposite to that indicated by thearrow in Fig. 2, the motorspring is wound.

In order to lock the tank against rotation after winding of the motor-spring I provide a trigger, which trigger comprises a spring controlled plug 13, the said plug being slidably mounted in an arm of a skeleton bracket 11. The spring-plug has a swiveled tappetfinger 13 at its upper end, which tappetlinger is adapted to extend through an aperture of the skeleton bracket and engage the end of a supporting pin 15. This pin may constitute a part of the skeleton bracket lt and, as best shown in Fig. 1, when the tappet-plug 13 has been depressed, its lower end will be b ought in the path of travel of a 513017-1112 16. which stop-lug projects upwardly from the juxtaposed spider-arm 9. The stop-plug is thus held in its depressed position and will pre ent rotation of the motor driven tank. The skeleton bracket 14 also carriesa pair of centrally apertured oppositely disposed tappet -plates 16, which tappet-plates are in slidable union with the bracket and. as best shown in Fig. 2. the opposite ends of each tappet-plate carries a springs, in turn, are connected to thermal elements A by wires or other suitable ties.

The thermal elements may be of any desired well known type and, as an exemplification, the single element shown in Fig. 2 comprises a lever a which is connected to the tappet plate and has an arm a that is connected to a block b by fusible solder 0. It is understood that the opposite end of the tappet-plate is similarly connected to a. thermal element and that when the fusible solder is intact each of the coiled springs 18 is extended under tension. Hence, when the mechanism is set for operation, the swiveled tappet-finger 13 projects through the apertures of the tappet-plates and, should any one of the thermal elements be released due to rise in temperature, it is apparent that the tappet-plate 16 connected thereto will move quickly in one direction and unseat the swiveled tappet-finger 13, whereby the spring-controlled plug 13 will be free to rise upward in order that its lower end may clear the top-lu g 16, whereby the motor spring is free to act and will thus cause rotation of the tank. Coincident to motion being imparted to the tank an alarm bell 19 is brought into action due to the fact that its spring-controlled lever 20 is freed from a locking pawl 20, which pawl is carried by the arm of the skeleton bracket. The bottom 10 of the tank is provided with a discharge mouth 10", which mouth is sealed by a fragile sealing-plate 10'. This sealingplate is arranged to be broken by a spring-controlled plunger 21, which plunger is mounted in suitable guides formed in the upper and lower spider-arms 9, 9, respectively. The upper end of the plunger 21 is notched for engagement with a dog 21, which dog is pivotally secured to the fixed hanger-post 5. This dog is so positioned with relation to the trigger mecha-.

nism as to be alined with its companion plunger when the motor-spring 12 is fully wound and hence the plunger, when lifted in opposition to its spring control, can readily be locked in such lifted position, being released coincident to initial rotation of the tank. A second spi'ingcontrolled plunger 22 is similarly supported by the spider-arms and its upper end is also notched for engagement with a locking-clog 22, which locking-dog is similarly supported by the hanger-post. This plunger is also looked upwardly with its spring under compression when the tank is in its normal or locked position relative to the trigger mechanism. The plunger 22 carries a spur 23, which spur is arranged to contact with a fragile chemical-holding vessel 24, the same being shown in the form of a glass bottle and corked or sealed in the ordinary manner. The chemical-holding vessel is rigidly supported upon the lower spider-arm 9 by feet guish an incipient blaze.

9" and a spring-finger 25, which springfinger is lapped about the body of the vessel.

From the foregoing it is apparent that the vessel containing the desired chemical is submerged within the fluid which constitutes a vehicle for said chemical but is normally separated therefrom due to the fact that said vessel is sealed. 'When the tank is released and starts to revolve through the influence of its motor-sprin it is apparent that the plunger 22 will travel beyond its locking dog 22, whereby said plunger is free to act under the influence of its spring and in traveling downward will break the fragile vessel 2 1-, causing the chemicals to be mixed with the fluid 11. Simultaneously with the release of the chemical which will now be thoroughly mixed with the liquid contained in the tank, the sealing plate 10 will be broken by release of the plunger 21 and hence the chemically mixed liquid will now flow into the compartment 26 and as the tank is rapidly revolved said liquid will be deposited in a spray upon the bottom of said compartment and will also be thrown out by centrifugal force and gravity through the nozzles 28 to smother a conflagration within the spraying field of the tank. It is understood that the purpose of the breakable container 24: is to preserve the strength of the chemical liquids until such time as it is desired to use the same and after use, the broken container is replaced by a similar loaded one; The smashed plate 10 is to form a seal from the bottom of the tank to prevent the liquid contained therein from flowing until such time as it is desired to use the same. The chemical contained in the sealed bottle 24- is of any of the well known fire-extinguishing type and its strength'is suflicient to permit of dilution with water many times its volume, whereby a large quantity of the weakened solution can be obtained before the spray operation takes place to extin-- If the solution contained in the bottle were directly mixed with the volume of water it would deteriorate in a short time and the efficiency of the water and chemical would be of little value. Hence the chemical extracts contained in the bottle are held intact until such time as they are to be used, when the bottle is broken, whereby the chemical is diluted to a sutlicient extent to provide the necessary volume that will have the desired the extinguishing effect. 7

In order to effect even distribution of the fluid or liquid I provide an auxiliary bottom 26 in connection with the tank bottom, which auxiliary bottom is spaced from the latter to form a liquid-receiving compartment 26. The bottom 26 may, as shown, he perforated, whereby some of the fluid will be precipitated downwardly, while the maj or portion of said fluid will be caused to travel through horizontally disposed discharge ports 27 with which the sidewalls of the compartment 26 are provided. These discharge ports 27 are preferably in the form of nipples, which nipples are adapted to enter the juxtaposed open ends of companion nozzles 28, the same being hinged to the side-walls of the tanks. The nozzles 28 are slightly tapered toward their discharge ends and are slotted as shown upon their lower sides to permit a certain percentage of the liquid to flow outwardly as it travels from end to end, it being understood that when the liquid is discharged, these nozzles will automatically swing down to a horizontal position as indicated in dotted lines F i 1, in which position their hinged ends will nest over the nippled discharge ports. When not in use the nozzles are swung up in the vertical positions shown in Figs. 1 and 2, in which folded positions they are held byweights 28 that project inwardly and beyond an imaginary vertical line intersecting their hinge axis. It is obvious that when the tank is revolved upon its axis the nozzles will be thrown outwardly by centrifugal force, whereby they will assume their working positions.

From the foregoing description it is apparent that the chemically treated liquid will be distributed throughout a great area, whereby flames will be extinguished and owing to the movement of the tank a small quantity of liquid can be chemically distributed throughout a maximum space to eifec tually suppress incipient blazes. It is also obvious that devices embodying the features of my invention may be installed about the ceilings of buildings by unskilled labor and that great efficiency in fire-extinguishing apparatus is obtained without resorting to the expensive installation of pipe systems now in use. The apparatus i furthermore advantageous due to the fact that the chemical employed will not deteriorate. A further advantage of my device lies in the fact that each unit is independent of the other and hence a derangement in one part of the system will only affect a single element. A further advantage in the employment of a series of units as described by me is that each container being suspended near the ceiling there is slight liability of freezing or any trouble incidental to climatic conditicns.

1 claim:

1. A fire-extinguisher comprising a revoluble tank having a sealed discharge mouth in its bottom, a sealed chemicalholding vessel within the tank, a spring motor for rotating the tank, a locking mechanism for the motor, a thermal-controlled means for releasing the mctor-locking mechanism, means associated with the thermal-controlled release mechanism for unsealing the vessel and tank discharge mouth, and a ported compartment in communication with said tank discharge mouth.

A fire-extinguisher comprising a fixed hanger, a tank revolubly mounted about the hanger a motor spring connecting the tank and hanger, a trigger mechanism for locking the tank against rotation in opposition to the motor-spring, a thermal controlled mechanism for releasing the trigger mechanism, a sealed discharge mouth in connection with the tank, and means for unsealing said mouth.

3. A fire-extinguisher comprising a fixed hanger, a tank revolubly mounted about the hanger, a motor spring connecting the tank and hanger, a trigger mechanism for looking the tank against rotation in opposition to the motor-spring, a. thermal-controlled mechanism for releasing the trigger mechanism, a sealed discharge mouth in connection with the tank, means for unsealing said mouth, a removable sealed chemical-holding vessel fitted within the tank, and means asscciated with the trigger mechanism for unsealing said vessel.

4. A fire-extinguisher comprising a stationary hanger, a spindle revolubly supported upon the hanger, a fluid-containing tank secured to the spindle, the bottom of the tank being provided with a sealed discharge mouth, an auxiliary compartment below the tank bottom having horizontally disposed discharge ports therein, hinged nozzles associated with said ports, means for holding the hinged nozzles in approxi mately vertical positions when the tank is at rest, a. motor-spring surrounding the tank spindle having its ends connected respectively to the hanger and said spindle, a thermal-controlled lock and release trigger for the tank, a sealed chemical-holding vessel seated within the tank, spring-controlled plungers adapted to unseal the vessel and tank bottom discharge mouth, and means for lrcking the plungers in opposition to spring-control when the tank is at rest.

5. A fire-extinguisher mechanism comprising a hanger, a spindle revo-luble therein, a coiled spring surrounding the spindle having its ends respectively connected to said spindle and hanger, a tank secured to the spindle having a bottom provided with a discharge mouth, a fragile sealing-plate for the discharge mouth, a fragile chemicalholding vessel seated within the tank, spring-actuated plungers arranged to break the vessel and mouth closure-plate. means in connection with the hanger for holding the plungers under spring tension, a trigger mechanism in connection with the hanger for locking the tank against rotation in opposition to spring tension, a receiving compartment in connection with the tank below its discharge mouth, the compartment have hereunto set my hand at Milwaukee in being provided With ports, nozzles in com the county of M1lwaukee and State of 71smunication with the ports,-and thermal elecousin in the presence of two Witnesses.

ments in connection with the trigger mech- RICHARD F. DOWVNEY. 5 anisin whereby the same is actuated to effect WVitnesses: release of the tank. GEO. W. YOUNG,

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I M. E. DOWNEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

